Cantareira records its lowest level for December in 6 years

The largest water reservoir in the São Paulo Metropolitan Region, the Cantareira System, is operating at its lowest level in the last six years for the month of December.

According to Sabesp’s monitor for the situation of water sources, Cantareira is, this Saturday (25), with 25.2% of its operating volume. This represents about 247.8 billion liters of water.

Sabesp considers levels between 20% and 30% as a state of restriction.

See Cantareira’s operating volume history for December:

• 2015: -1,8%

• 2016: 45,8%

• 2017: 41,4%

• 2018: 38,6%

• 2019: 39,8%

• 2020: 34,9%

• 2021: 25,2%

Risk of shortages

Professor at the Institute of Energy and Environment (IEE) of the University of São Paulo (USP), Pedro Cortês, told the CNN that there is a great risk of shortages in April 2022.

The projection is that the level can reach up to 20%, since in the coming months, there is no forecast of rain above the average in the places necessary to supply the system.

Cantareira depends on the same rainfall as those in central Brazil, which comes from the Amazon. According to the specialist, deforestation in the area contributes to the lack of precipitation.

With the exception of the water crisis period, Cantareira had not reached such low levels since March 2016.

History of the water level in Cantareira in the last year

Largest water producer in Greater São Paulo

Made up of six dams, the Cantareira System is the largest producer of water in Greater São Paulo. The Águas Claras, Jaguari, Jacareí, Cachoeira, Atibainha and Paiva Castro reservoirs are connected by 48 km of underground tunnels and channels.

There is also a pumping station in the System to overcome the physical barrier of Serra da Cantareira.

The treatment plant has a capacity of 33 thousand liters of water per second for 6.5 million people in the North, Central and parts of the East and West Zones of the capital, as well as the municipalities of Franco da Rocha, Francisco Morato, Caieiras, Osasco, Carapicuíba and São Caetano do Sul, as well as part of the municipalities of Guarulhos, Barueri, Taboão da Serra and Santo André.

Due to the possibility of a lack of water, the capacity of the Cantareira system was increased with the use of technical reserves, also called dead volume.

* With information from Victoria Cocolo, from CNN.

Water crisis in Brazil: see in images how the drought affects the dam scenario